Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are!

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

This fairly well-known hymn begins with a couple of interesting questions. I get the mental picture that the author is looking into the eyes of someone and sees the weariness, the trouble, and the heavy load that this person is carrying, and is asking these two questions. Isn’t it true that you can tell so much by gazing into someone’s eyes? Whether it is a twinkle in their eye, or sadness and despair, the eyes are extremely revealing. The author then gives some great counsel and reminds the person to turn their eyes upon Jesus. This thought reminds me of Hebrews 12:2 which tells us to “…fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith…” The writer of Hebrews follows up this command with the following instruction in verse 3 by saying “Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Looking at Him and focusing on Him reminds us that our problems do pale in comparison with Christ sufferings, and it should be a challenge for us not to grow weary and lose heart.

Couple of lines worth highlighting:

• “Things of earth will grow strangely dim” – Have you noticed that when you focus your eyes on an object, the things you see in your peripheral vision tend to blur and fade? I think this is the practical concept the author is talking about. An intense focus on Christ – His love, His Grace, His Sacrifice, His Return – will cause other things in our lives to diminish. Those things will grow strangely dim, but only when our focus is not entirely on them.
• “Sin no more hath dominion” – In reviewing the author’s statement here, I thought it was worthwhile to look up the definition of “dominion.” Dominion can mean control, or authority, or even domination. If you will recall, God gave Adam dominion over the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, etc. What I think is interesting about this phrase is that the author doesn’t say “Sin is non-existent” or “Sin no more has a place in my life.” I think the author would agree with the statement that, unfortunately, all of us in some way or another will still sin. As we mature in Christ, that should be come a decreasing truth, but a truth nonetheless. Sin, however, can become (and should become) less and less a part of our daily life, and truly have no influence, no control, or dominion over our actions.

Have you ever noticed how road signs have some simple, but sometimes deep, spiritual truths? Think about it. “Stop” or “Yield” or “One Way” or “Wrong Way.” All of those signs can be used in a spiritual context, and could be titles for a series of sermons. This week’s hymn reminded me of another road sign – “No U turn.” The “U” turn that this week’s hymn is warning us against is the direction of our focus – a focus on “U” (or yourself). When we are constantly looking at our problems, our challenges, and our struggles, we are unable to see things from God’s perspective. Our problems overwhelm us at times while God is whispering “My grace is sufficient” (2 Cor 12:9). Our temptations are on every side while God is saying I have provided a “way of escape” (1 Cor 10:13). Our financial struggles seem to be too big to handle, and God says “I am Jehovah Jireh – your provider” (Gen 22:14).

This hymn is a good reminder for all of us to return our focus to Him, so I encourage you, while on your spiritual journey, follow the road signs – “NO U TURNS.”